Product Backlog Management Flashcards
What is the goal of a sprint?
To have a DONE increment.
What is the garbage in garbage out analogy in the context of a sprint?
In order to be DONE at end of the sprint we must be ready at the beginning of the sprint.
How much time can be used for the sprint refinement?
Ca. 5-10% of the sprint capacity. E.g. every week a 2 h sprint refinement.
Why not creating a backlog for more thatn 1-2 sprints ahead?
because requirements and opportunities never stop changing. Detailing everything up front would create waste and also delay the delivery of value.
Can a refinement technique be applied for all products and teams?
Different products and different teams will have unique needs in terms of frequency, techniques, and level of detail. The Goldilocks Principle is about finding what is “just right” for your team.
What are the Goldilocks questions regarding the backlog transparency?
- How well do stakeholders and the Scrum Team understand what is planned for the product?
- How frequently are the interested stakeholders surprised by what was delivered?
What are the Goldilocks questions regarding the sprint goal/value?
- How often do you discover during a Sprint that there is not a shared understanding of the business need or what you are building to meet it?
- How frequently do you discover in a Sprint Review or after a release that a PBI does not meet the user or business need?
What are the Goldilocks questions regarding the consumable pieces?
- How often are you not delivering a “Done” Increment? How often are you not meeting a Sprint Goal?
- When is this attributed to discovering mid-Sprint that PBIs are much bigger than you thought or not sliced thin enough?
What are the Goldilocks questions regarding the dependencies?
How often do you discover dependencies during a Sprint that jeopardize the Sprint Goal?
How long do PBIs in a Sprint stay “blocked” by dependencies?
When do you have to re-order the Product Backlog to account for dependencies? And how much of an impact does this have on the Product Owner’s ability to optimize value?
What are the Goldilocks questions regarding the forecasting?
How much lead time is necessary for users, customers, and other stakeholders to implement a new feature or function? What is the impact if they have less lead time?
How much detail do users, customers, and other stakeholders need in release forecasts? What is the impact if they have less detail?
Does SCRUM forbid up-front planning?
Scrum simply says to consider your effort to do so, the potential waste, and the fact that you cannot perfectly predict the future in a complex domain no matter how much analysis you do.
Which are the goldilock questions regarding learning about the products evolving capabilities?
How are you adapting the Product Backlog to reflect new learning about the product’s evolving capabilities and how users are responding to the changes?
What opportunities have been missed? What prevented you from responding sooner?
What are some general godilock questions regarding the backlog prep?
- How frequently do you want to do refinement? And how much time do you want to spend detailing the Product Backlog?
- Who do you want to be involved in refinement? What knowledge and perspectives are needed? How will you enable shared understanding?
- How much of your Product Backlog do you want to be “Ready” before a Sprint? What does “Ready” mean to you?
- How do you want to communicate important details about PBIs? What methods are working well and what methods are not?
- How will you ensure you can see the whole and not get bogged down in details?
Is a refinement a sprint meeting? What to consider when organizing it?
No, it’s not.
Things to consider when organizing:
- braking down items is a complex process that requires creativity, meeting table might not be suitable for it
- breaking down of items can be done in subgroups, doesn’t need all team
- don’t use digi tools, best postits usw., if you need to use a tool, use a collaborative one where everyone can cooperate.
What is a product backlog item?
“Items on a Product Backlog are essentially reminders of conversations that we will need to have in the future.”
